NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION (Falls Church, VA)
A vehicle control system consists of at most one control inceptor in order to provide pilot control of the vehicle that is associated with it and an interface for communications for processing external entity SA information associated with an external entity. The data is received at a communications system connected to the vehicle. An SA video screen presents video information to the pilot of the vehicle. The video content includes the pilot’s perspective of visual data that corresponds to a real-time dynamic virtual representation of the surroundings of the vehicle. It provides a realistic visual view of the pilot’s perspective to the surrounding area of the vehicle. It is responsive to the pilot control. The video data from the pilot’s perspective is superimposed on the visual indication of an external entity at an approximate location which corresponds to the actual position of the external entity in relation to the vehicle. The location is out of the vision range of a pilot who uses the SA data to determine the exact location.
The majority of vehicles are operated using eyesight. This gives enough information for the pilot to make good decisions and to maintain control. Hand-eye coordination is an essential requirement for successfully navigating the vehicle. This is particularly true when speedy reaction time and decision-making are required (e.g. in circumstances of combat). Many techniques have been created and are still being developed to combat the use of vision by pilots to steer the vehicle. For example since the beginning of aviation, pilots have used the light of the sun or the cloud cover as a way to shield themselves from the attack of enemy aircraft. As technology improves in sophistication and capability, it becomes more important to have long-range standoff distances. This has impacted the ability of pilots to be able to see enough to be competitive in the modern war tactics.
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